Saratoga Springs, N.Y. – The Skidmore College women's basketball team battled back from 12 points down in the final 2:45, but the Thoroughbreds came up just short, falling to Rensselaer in the Liberty League Championship, 70-67 in front of a standing room only crowd at the Sports and Recreation Center.
Skidmore falls to 21-5 overall, while the Engineers improved to 17-10.
Sharlyn Harper (New York, N.Y.) had a game-high 23 points and
Amber Kinsey (Troy, N.Y.) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Thoroughbreds.
Dana Leonard (Cooperstown, N.Y.) chipped in with 10 points.
Skidmore got out to a 12-6 lead after a pair of free throws from Leonard and the teams battled back and forth over the next few minutes as RPI cut the lead to one at 18-17 on a layup from Amanda Brophy at the 7:50 mark. The Thoroughbreds went on a 12-2 run to close out the half and take a 30-19 lead into the locker rooms.
Skidmore got their lead up to 14 early in the second half on a free throw from Harper before the Engineers would go on a 24-5 run over the next seven minutes and took the lead on a free throw from Whitney Coleman at the 12:40 mark. Brophy gave Rensselaer a 12 point advantage at the 2:45 mark on a pair of free throws before the Thoroughbreds battled their way back into the game.
The teams combined to score 37 points over the final 2:45 as Skidmore outscored the Engineers 23-14 as they traded baskets. The Thoroughbreds cut the lead down to three on two separate occasions, a three-pointer from
Christina Gargiso (Staten Island, N.Y.) with 45 seconds left and on a layup from Gargiso with 10 seconds remaining. After Gargiso's layup, RPI tried to make a long pass, but
Christine Kemp (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) was able to take it away from Coleman and come up with the steal and she sped up court and found Kinsey on the wing, but her game-tying attempt came up just short as the Engineers hung on for the win.
Whitney Coleman scored 15 of her team-high 16 points in the second half and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for RPI. Earlier in the game, Coleman became the school's all-time leading scorer. Allison Connor had 15, while Amanda Brophy chipped in with 12 and Laura Easterling added 10.
The Engineers were 24-36 from the free throw line, including 14-22 in the last 2:45 while Skidmore finished 16-of-22 from the charity stripe.
2010 Liberty League All-Tournament Team
Allison Connor – RPI
Nicole Monroe – RPI
MVP – Whitney Coleman – RPI
Rensselaer vs Skidmore College
2/27/10 3 pm at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
At Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
RENSSELAER 70, SKIDMORE COLLEGE 67
RENSSELAER (17-10)
Whitney Coleman 3-16 9-14 16; Allison Connor 5-11 1-3 15; Amanda Brophy 5-7
2-2 12; Laura Easterling 2-3 5-6 10; Hillary McKinley 3-5 2-4 8; Nicole
Monroe 1-6 3-5 5; Lauren Hayes 0-4 2-2 2; Ellen High 1-1 0-0 2; Kirsten
Orrell 0-1 0-0 0; Katie Hansan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 24-36 70.
SKIDMORE COLLEGE (21-5)
Sharlyn Harper 8-20 4-6 23; Amber Kinsey 2-12 6-8 10; Dana Leonard 3-10 4-4
10; Christina Gargiso 3-6 2-4 9; Megan Gaugler 3-7 0-0 7; Antonia Williams
2-4 0-0 4; Kelly Bischoff 1-2 0-0 2; Cyrida Felton 1-1 0-0 2; Ismatu
Alison-Konteh 0-2 0-0 0; Logan Frederick 0-1 0-0 0; Christine Kemp 0-3 0-0
0. Totals 23-68 16-22 67.
Rensselaer.................... 19 51 - 70
Skidmore College.............. 30 37 - 67
3-point goals--Rensselaer 6-20 (Allison Connor 4-10; Laura Easterling 1-2;
Whitney Coleman 1-2; Nicole Monroe 0-1; Lauren Hayes 0-4; Amanda Brophy
0-1), Skidmore College 5-23 (Sharlyn Harper 3-8; Megan Gaugler 1-3;
Christina Gargiso 1-2; Christine Kemp 0-2; Dana Leonard 0-4; Amber Kinsey
0-4). Fouled out--Rensselaer-Amanda Brophy, Skidmore College-Sharlyn Harper.
Rebounds--Rensselaer 47 (Whitney Coleman 15), Skidmore College 42 (Amber
Kinsey 12). Assists--Rensselaer 12 (Whitney Coleman 4), Skidmore College 11
(Megan Gaugler 2; Sharlyn Harper 2; Dana Leonard 2; Christine Kemp 2). Total
fouls--Rensselaer 20, Skidmore College 26. Technical
fouls--Rensselaer-Nicole Monroe, Skidmore College-None. A-655
Liberty League Championship Game
